Making Waves
by JackiLeigh
Summary: Not everyone at White Collar was happy when Peter brought a criminal into their midst. Mention of Neal whumpage, mild.
1. Chapter 1

MAKING WAVES

**AN: I can't imagine everyone at White Collar was happy when Peter brought a criminal into their midst. I think some, well most, are still unhappy about it. I have made up some agent's names here. Just a little one-shot, Enjoy!**

"I shouldn't have said anything." Neal replied.

"Neal!"

"I just made things worse." Neal lamented.

"Neal, what do you mean you made things worse?" Peter asked. Neal's revelation was a complete surprise to him.

"Come on, Peter. You had to know that some people wouldn't be happy with this arrangement."

Peter nodded. "Yes, then…in the beginning…but now…." He just shook his head. So much time has passed.

"Now they're still not happy." Neal said. "I mean I never expected them to like me. But…."

"They like you." Peter replied.

"No." Neal said, shaking his head. "They like _you_. They tolerate me."

"Neal!" Peter said.

"It's what they tell you…how they act around you." Neal stated. "When you're not around…." He shook his head.

WC WC WC WC WC

"It's been a nice break. It really has." Agent Chris Allen said as he ate his sandwich in the conference room. He had been joined by Agents Alice Peters, Raymond Helms, Crystal Myers, and Harold Wilson.

Agent Peter Burke had come back from visiting Neal at the hospital. He would go back in a couple more hours when El could join him. The agents, meanwhile, had no idea that he was in the next room, his office, trying to catch up on work. Peter could hear their conversation, very well, through the thin wall that separated the two rooms.

Neal had been injured when he had tried to fight off his attackers/kidnappers. Neal had gotten a few good punches in, much to Peter's surprise when he, Jones and Diana had arrested them later. They had said they had had to subdue him some way, so Neal had ended up with a few broken ribs and a concussion.

"I agree. Alice said. "Those fedoras…so annoying."

Peter's ears perked up.

"…walking around here like he owns the place." Alice said.

"…just because he gets to spend a lot of time in Burke's office." Harold replied.

Peter resisted the urge to announce his presence. He wanted to see what his co-workers really thought of Neal's presence in the office. He hoped he could keep his cool long enough to hear it all.

Crystal nodded. "They should have hired an agent to do Caffrey's job."

"Yeah, at least that guy wouldn't have to be tethered to a leash." Raymond replied.

That got a chuckle from everyone in the room.

_So, Neal was right. _Peter realized as he listened to the conversation. _Neal was right._ The realization both saddened and angered him.

Peter was standing at the door when the agents all stood up to leave after lunch. They all looked at Peter, then at each other. They sat back down.

"All of you know…" Peter started, trying to suppress his anger.. "…why we didn't hire an agent to do Neal's job. It's because you could have the best profile developed by the best profiler in the business, and it's still incomplete. We could make the best plans to catch the best criminals, and they would be incomplete. Because as much as we work at this job to catch these guys, as much as we _think_ we know, we still don't know enough. And that is because we, ourselves, are _not _criminals."

None of the agents were looking at Peter, but he continued to speak.

"Neal Caffrey is one of the brightest people I have ever met. He is a master criminal, and he has agreed to work with us." Peter paused. "And I know what you're gonna say. But Caffrey didn't have to make this deal." Peter paused again. "Neal's made himself very unpopular with a lot of his fellow criminals. That is part of the reason he is in the hospital now. And a lot of them would just shoot him if they didn't think that that would bring the FBI down on them."

They all looked at Peter on that one. None of them had really considered how much danger that Neal had put himself in by just becoming a Confidential Informant.

"And the way Neal walks around here…" Peter continued. "…that is not Neal being cocky. That's Neal being Neal. If you even took the time to talk to him, a little to get to know him, you would realize that. I know Neal's a criminal. And I know that no matter what I say, that that is the only way some of you will ever see him. But there are lines that even he will not cross." Peter replied. "I'm not asking you to become his best 'bud.' I'm not even asking you to like him. Just give him a chance. I'm asking you to just realize and appreciate what he does for us."

Now Continued-


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Neal stepped into the elevator in the FBI building to go to his floor. He felt strange, or more accurately, the atmosphere was different. He usually went through the lobby and up to his floor without anyone saying much to him. He hadn't expected the greetings to continue after his first day back. But they had. It had now been several days, actually. And now there was a one-sided conversation in the elevator. Neal looked around to see why the other person was not answering. Then he realized that that other person was him. Neal nodded and said hello. He smiled and was relieved seconds later when the doors opened and he could exit. He dropped his hat and jacket at his desk and headed up to Peter's office.

"I don't have a case for us yet, Neal." Peter stated as Neal walked in the room.

Neal shook his head and sit down. "What is this…Twilight Zone?…Invasion of the Body Snatchers?"

"What?" Peter looked up, studying his C.I. "Those are some great cult classics, by the way."

"Yes, they are." Neal said nodding. "No, I mean, what's going on around here? Agent Peters barely acknowledges my existence. She doesn't speak to me. Yet she has spoken to me three times in as many days. I just…I don't get it." Neal paused. "And it's not just her…Agents Helms…Wilson? Agent Myers even asked me if I wanted a cup of coffee yesterday morning." Neal looked at Peter, rather intently. "According to these agents, I don't exist. I have never exchanged anything more than pleasantries with any of them. Why now?"

Peter looked at Neal.

"What did you have to do with this?" Neal asked.

Peter innocently shook his head.

"It is no coincidence that one of the last conversations we had before I was admitted to the hospital was on this very subject." Neal concluded.

Peter didn't say anything.

"So you must have found out something." Neal surmised. "You found out I was right."

Peter still didn't respond.

"You found out I was right and you said something to them…Peter!" Neal said, exasperated.

"What?!"

"You can't force people to be nice. You can't force people to do anything." Neal replied. "It never works. And now…what? They're nice for a few days, maybe a week, and then things to back to the way they used to be." Neal stared at Peter. "What did you accomplish? What!?"

Peter was truly at a loss for words. He didn't really know how Neal would react when he told him. But Peter had not expected this.

Neal saw Peter's confusion. He sighed. "I know what you tried to do, Peter. I appreciate it. I really do, but it's not going to help. It's really not."

Peter opened his mouth to speak. Neal stopped him.

"They don't trust me, Peter. You don't trust me 100%. I know that, and I know why. I know I have done things to cause your distrust, the thing with Kate, the U-boat treasure…and others. They can't trust me if their boss doesn't."

"Neal, I…." Peter started to speak, but an agent showed up at his door.

Neal took the opportunity to get up and leave the room before Peter could say anything else.

"We aren't finished here, Neal." Peter called after him as Neal made his way back to his desk.

Neal just nodded his head as he went down the stairs.

Peter called Neal back into his office an hour later. Neal sat down and waited for Peter to speak.

"Like I told you earlier, Neal, that conversation was not over." Peter replied. "And I didn't tell them that to make them be nice to you. I said what I said to them because I believe in our partnership. I think it's working really well. Granted, there have been a few…hiccups along the way. But for the most part, this partnership has really worked. It's been extremely productive. Everybody's expectations have been surpassed, including my own." Peter paused.

"That's nice…but." Neal started.

Peter shook his head. "I told them, Neal, they didn't have to like you. I also told them I wanted them to appreciate the work you do for us. These cases, a lot of them, would have remained unsolved if it hadn't been for you helping us." Peter stated. "They all know that, Neal. They hate to admit it, but they all know it." Peter looked out into the area past his office. "A lot of them believe a criminal belongs in jail, period, end of story. And for the most part I agree. Most criminals commit violent crimes, there's statistical evidence to support it, and they do belong in jail. That way society, as a whole, is safe from them."

Neal opened his mouth to speak.

Peter shook his head again. "But that is not you. That doesn't describe you, Neal."

"So, I'm a non-violent criminal, Peter. I am still a criminal. I still belong…." Neal shook his head.

"No. No, you don't." Peter insisted.

"Tell them that." Neal said, thumbing out into the hallway.

Peter looked at his C.I. and sighed as Neal stood up to leave the office.

WC WC WC WC WC

The weekend had been long and very pleasant. No cases for the White Collar Division. Neal dressed in his best gray suit. He admired himself in the mirror, liking the way the gray brought out his eyes.

Neal sighed as he looked at himself. He hoped all this 'weirdness' at work had ended. He longed for the days when he was largely ignored by those in the White Collar Division. He had wondered, at one time, how it would be if people liked him at work. But now that he thought he knew, he wasn't sure he liked it so well. He kind of missed being ignored.

Neal took two steps into the office and stopped cold. Today was his birthday. It was not that he had forgotten. But he hadn't expected to walk into the office and see a huge 'Happy Birthday' balloon floating above his desk. He hadn't expected cards. And he really, truly hadn't expected the attention. In the past, Peter had given him a gift in his office, and Jones and Diana had slipped him greeting cards with a gift cards enclosed. They knew the stores he liked. He really appreciated that attention. This attention…he didn't know what to think.

A couple of hours later Neal cornered on of the agents in the break room.

"I don't understand this. I really don't." Neal said to Agent Alice Peters. "I…the birthday thing…you guys don't celebrate my birthday. I'm surprised you even know when it is." Neal replied. "You guys don't talk to me. Up until know I wasn't even sure you knew I existed." Neal shook his head.

Agent Peters was a little shocked by Caffrey's directness. But she recovered quickly, and decided to answer his question. "There was a lot of…resentment when Burke brought you on board." Alice admitted.

Neal nodded. He knew that very well.

"I just…we couldn't see what it was Peter show in you." Alice said, she figured she had gone this far, might as well get it all out in the open. "We were so sure you would only last a week, maybe a month. You would run off and that would be it. We definitely didn't expect you to be as…helpful as you've been. We expect you to have an angle. But you didn't seem to. That just confused things more." Alice paused. "We all saw Peter getting closer and closer to you. We couldn't understand what it was he saw…."

Neal started to speak.

"Peter caught us talking about you last week, when you were still in the hospital. Suffice to say, he set us straight, on a lot of things. And now I've had time to…think about things." Alice admitted again. "Plus, talking to…handsome men can sometimes be a little…just a little, intimidating." Alice looked at the floor, knowing she was blushing, just a little, at least.

Neal smiled and chuckled. He hadn't even considered his looks as playing any role in this. "Really?" It escaped before Neal knew it. He hadn't meant to say anything.

Agent Peters just looked at Neal. _Was it possible he wasn't conceded? That he wasn't 'hung up' on himself?_

Neal shook his head. "Growing up I was always the skinny kid with the big blue eyes. I just…I never gave it a lot of thought. It's helped me out, for sure. But I really don't give it a lot of thought."

Agent Peter's smiled. She really like that he felt comfortable enough to share a tiny bit of himself.

"So, you like the fedoras?" Neal asked.

Alice looked at him, surprised. _How did he know what I had said?_

Neal smiled, noting her surprise. "I'm very good at stealth…occupational necessity."

"Let's just say that they are growing on me." Alice stated, reverting to agent mode. "I know you put your life in danger just working for the FBI. But I never thought about it before. I guess when you decide you don't like someone; you don't take things like what they are going through into consideration. I appreciate what you do for this agency, for us." Alice paused. "I'm not saying we'll hang out together, be friends or anything…."

Neal nodded. "All I ask for is a chance."

Alice and Neal nodded and parted ways. Neal had a better understanding of what the other agents saw when they looked at him.

THE END

**END NOTES: Thanks, as always to my beta, ccluvshorses101. **

**I know some of you may disagree with me. But I think don't think Neal is conceited on the show. He just doesn't come across that way to me. I think he is well aware he is a good-looking guy. He uses it to his advantage, for sure. But he is not, in the least, 'hung up' on himself.**


End file.
